


Hindsight Is 30/20

by custardpringle



Category: Moon (2009)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 20:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/141539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/custardpringle/pseuds/custardpringle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If GERTY were capable of anxiety, now might be the time for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hindsight Is 30/20

**Author's Note:**

  * For [grey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grey/gifts).



By his very nature, GERTY is not inclined to ambiguity, imprecision, uncertainty, incompleteness, or inconsistency, and _certainly_ not to forgetfulness. His memory cache, containing audio and video records of everything that has happened and every function he himself has performed since the moment that Sarang was brought online, is stored in triplicate. All his systems, including of course the memory cache, are subject to regularly scheduled self-diagnostics, and there are even diagnostics for the diagnostics if the need for them arises. Not only can Lunar Industries afford to play it safe, they cannot afford _not_ to.

It is fortunate, therefore, that GERTY is also not by nature inclined to concern, uncertainty, or self-doubt; the unquestionable reliability of his memory and processing abilities ought to make these things entirely irrelevant. Because his memory cache, memory backups, and diagnostic and meta-diagnostic systems all confirm a record of uninterrupted, perfectly accurate functioning—and the physical state of the base does not confirm this.

If GERTY were capable of anxiety, now might be the time for it. In fact, he alters his interpersonal interaction programming accordingly, on the chance that in three years when the current Sam Bell begins to break down mentally and physically GERTY will be better able to sympathize with Sam’s loss of faith in his own faculties. But the accumulating inconsistencies merit attention and correction, all the same, so—without seeing the need to notify Sam or Base just yet—GERTY quietly creates a file and begins to investigate.

:/

The first two items on GERTY’S list are trivial: a discrepancy between the quantity of Helium-3 harvest recorded and the number of delivery canisters launched, and the release of the LunarSat blockage. GERTY is well aware that LunarSat service comes and goes as Base demands, but he ought to have a record of the activation and deactivation of the blocking towers, and he has no record of the most recent deactivation order—let alone of the shutdown actually taking place. Neither this error nor the apparent misplacement of a pair of Helium-3 delivery canisters are particularly significant in their own right, true. But the fact that there _are_ errors, plural, is suggestive. Of _what_ it is suggestive—well, a gap in recent memory is indicated, although GERTY can find no actual such gap in his cache. However, GERTY can see no immediate logical connection between the two phenomena, so no reasonable conclusion can yet be drawn about what might have gone on during such a gap.

It is at this point, still relatively early in his investigation into himself, that GERTY begins to consider reporting to Base that he may be malfunctioning and require repair or replacement. Again, his decision is that a report to anyone else can wait. He has no instincts of self-preservation—was not _programmed_ with them, at any rate, though he does of course possess plenty of room for adaptation in his programming. But a report to Base would most likely result in the dispatch of another rescue team to attempt repairs or even-- if the problem proves to be deeper than it appears-- overhaul GERTY entirely. Such an event would, GERTY decides, be too disruptive to the newest Sam Bell, who is still only a few days awake and has yet to finish getting his literal and metaphorical feet under him.

(Metaphor is a thing GERTY has learned about mostly from the Sams, though they have all exhibited a rather monotonous tendency to apply sexual metaphor to _everything._ Once, in conversation with the third Sam—the second clone awakened—he decided to experiment in using metaphor to make himself more relatable, and said “Sam, one of those fucking harvesters is indicating a fucking jammed tread again.”

Sam laughed and said “Christ, GERTY. You’re a great guy and my only friend, but _never fucking say that again._ It’s fucking creepy, the way you say it.”

So GERTY hasn’t.)

Besides, the Eliza team just didn’t provide the kind of satisfactory conversation the Sams always do, and GERTY sees no reason to encourage further interaction between himself and more of the same sort of people.

:/

The third item on the list is also a record-keeping failure—technically no greater in scale than the loss of a pair of delivery canisters, but _immense_ in its potential implications, most of which are perturbing even to GERTY. It should not be necessary to keep count of the clones stored in the lower levels, both pre-wakened and dead. When one dies, the next is awakened; the process is so simple that it should not _need_ checking. But, when the Eliza team retrieves the body of the last Sam from the crash and brings it back for storage with the others, it is a matter of routine that GERTY run a check on the storage facilities so that Base can be certain everything is in order.

Everything is not in order. The number of dead clones in storage, counting the most recently deceased, tallies with the number of Sams GERTY has served with. But the number of pre-wakened clones is incorrect. One has been misplaced, and GERTY cannot discover a way in which it might even be physically possible to _misplace_ a pre-wakened clone. At this point, GERTY judges that the potential danger to the continued functioning of Sarang outweighs the potential danger to the final stage of Sam’s awakening process. All the same, he chooses to wait two days, until the Eliza team has departed and Sam is more coherent. And in that time the mystery—although not the problem—is solved.

“GERTY,” says Base, over a live feed. Both men are clearly angry, though trying to hide it; Base, like GERTY, recognize the illogic in getting angry over a situation over which they have no control. “We have a problem.”

“A clone has landed on Earth.”

“Part of your job is to prevent this from happening.”

“What _did_ happen, GERTY?”

“I have no memory of any clones departing the base and cannot account for him,” says GERTY, quite truthfully. But this is satisfying information to receive; at least the misplaced clone is alive and doing well.

:S

The fourth question, while a drastic one, has no apparent connection to Sarang’s ability to function, and so GERTY places it in his file but as a low priority. It is Sam himself, now four days awake and growing restless under his still light workload, who calls GERTY’s attention back to the problem.

“ _Damn,_ GERTY,” he says, the first time he goes into the rec room and sees the model town still smashed on the floor, dirt and balsa wood scattered everywhere. “Last guy sure trashed the hell out of this place before he went, didn’t he? What got up his ass?”

“I really couldn’t say, Sam.” While GERTY still has not reported all his functional discrepancies to Base—all parties being more concerned with the unexpected arrival of a Sam clone on Earth—he expects that, for Sam’s own protection, he is going to need to tell the new clone much more than he is authorized to. Now that the LunarSat blocking towers are no longer functioning, probability is very low that the Sam on Sarang can be entirely shielded from the chaos already being created by the Sam on Earth. Surely some advance warning is called for. “Sam,” he says again, to get the man’s attention back; Sam is rummaging through the shelves, looking for something.

“Yeah, I’m still listening. Hey GERTY, wanna help me clean this mess up?”

GERTY sends a couple of arms over, obligingly. “Sam, a situation has arisen on Earth that you ought to be aware of.”


End file.
